


Pokemon Nyctophobia

by AncientHeroOfHyrule



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Action/Adventure, Blood and Violence, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Secrets, Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Pokemon Journey, Pokemon References, Strangers to Lovers, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-03-30 13:16:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13952373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AncientHeroOfHyrule/pseuds/AncientHeroOfHyrule
Summary: "I had been afraid of the dark my entire life. Even now, I can feel its crushing power suffocating me. You were the embodiment of that fear, playing with me through the veil of Your world. Finally, I will face You in battle and defeat You." A boy that's afraid of the dark has been plagued with dreams that frighten him to his very core. As he goes on a journey to find more about himself, he can feel the presence of a shadow closing on him as he progresses farther. With the help of his newfound friends, can he make it through his land's many obstacles? Can he face the Darkness and its beasts within? Or will he suffer defeat at an enemy he never knew he had?





	1. That Kind in the Corner

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> If you don't know me, I'm AncientHeroofTime a fairly new user of AO3. It will be a pretty fun ride to go through this new story that I have here: known as Pokémon Nyctophobia. Like my other story, this one is based on a what-if scenario, so that means that some if not most things will be different things will be different from the games. I mean, what were you expecting? Just because I'll follow the plot of the games doesn't mean I won't branch out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this first chapter. I'm not sure when I'll upload the next chapter, but we'll see.  
> Oh, and on a different note, I don't own any rights to the Pokemon franchise at all. I'm just using the characters and plot to write a story for the enjoyment of others.  
> Don't forget to like and leave a comment; I would appreciate seeing your thoughts and feedback.
> 
> Until I see you in the next chapter...
> 
> May Arceus watch over you!

* * *

 

_**Chapter 1: That Kid in the Corner** _

* * *

 

_"There are only a couple things that you need to know about me. One, my name as Lucas. And two, I'm a nerd."_

Lucas had told this to people his age more times than he could count. The phrase was not one that he made himself. Well, it kind of was, but it was mostly thanks to the kids that bullied him while he was at the Trainer School. Not that it mattered though, he never paid any attention to their name-calling.

They had called him what you would expect them to call a kid like him: squirt, klutz, four eyes, and Slowpoke were the ones that came to his ears most often. But there was one that irritated him the most above all the other stupid names they could come with.

Lucas shuddered as he thought of it.

 _'That kid in the corner'_  was what they called him. What they said was perfectly true though. He would often find himself in the corner of the classroom, diligently reading through his mother's Pokedex.

Thus was the origin of the sentence.

He didn't have to listen anymore. The last time Lucas set foot inside the Jubilife City Trainer School was when he was 7, and that was over six years ago. Some people might have thought he didn't do well in school because of him an apparently easy target, just sitting in a corner alone Some thought that- because of the constant bullying, that he would feel stressed and not enjoy school, but despite that he did very well and still enjoyed it.

He sighed, running his fingers through his steel gray hair. Lucas tried his best not to think about the past, but sometimes it was hard, especially when it came to school.

"Lucas, could you come down and help me please?" his mother called.

The boy smiled and hopped off the chair in front of his dresser. He slowly walked down the stairs looking around for his mother but found no sign of her.

"Over here!" She called from outside in the garden. Lucas's mom had a thing for growing berries all throughout the year. The good thing that came from her "obsession" was that he got to try the berries that she planted.

The boy made his way across the house from the stairs, passing by the living room and the kitchen as he went. Stepping outside onto the grass, Lucas crouched to his mother's side, who was looking down at her berry patch with a frown. He could tell that she was working hard. It must have been that she wasn't satisfied with the result, because her face, red hair, and gardening clothes were covered in dirt. Some berry seedlings were strewn about her.

"What's the matter, Mom?" Lucas asked in a quiet but firm voice.

At the sound of his question, Angela's brown eyes softened, and they looked back at a pair that mirrored them. She sighed and held her posture more firmly, as she rubbed her aching back.

"Sorry dear," she apologized, "I'm just having a bit of trouble with deciding which berries to grow."

The boy cupped his chin in both hands. She could see the gears turning in his head.

"What kind of berries do you want?"

She sighed again. "I want to grow sweet berries, you know. Like Mago Berries. But the Starly are going to just eat them up once they're fully grown so it will be just useless."

After a moment of thinking, Lucas snapped his fingers. "I got it! Just spray some Repels on the saplings."

Angela looked him. "Wouldn't that make them not safe to eat?"

Lucas shook his head. "Repels now are made where the chemicals are safe to eat so it should be fine. Plus, the stronger the Repel the longer the effect lasts, so I think a simple Repel should keep those pesky birds out of the way."

Angela smiled and ruffled her son's hair. "You're such a good boy. Sometimes I wonder where you get your smarts from." Then she laughed. Oh right, you get them from me!"

Lucas grinned in return. It was true, he was very smart for his age, and his grades reflected it. His mother often joked that: "He swallowed the entire Pokedex long before he even set foot in the Trainer School!" Though because of him having his nose in the books all the time, he didn't have that many friends, which eventually caused him to have social anxiety.

"I'll go and get the Repels," Lucas offered. He got up and went back into the house, shutting the sliding door behind him. Within a few moments, he returned, carrying a cream-colored spray bottle with a Pikachu on the front with a red circle and cross over it.

Crouching back down, he handed it over to his mom.

Angela proceeded to spray the spots where she planted her new seeds with the Repel that Lucas handed her.

She stood up with a satisfied smile.

"Okay! Now, all we need to do now is wait for them to dr-

There was a loud roar above them, and both looked up in surprise.

A Dragonite was heading towards them. It was flying at an urgent pace its orange scales gleaming in the morning sun.

"Oh my, what could this be about?" Angela wondered.

Lucas shook his head. "I'm not sure, but it must be urgent."

The Pokémon Mail Service or PML was a system where people got their mail from certain Pokémon. The priority- or importance of the mail- could be judged by the strength of the Pokémon delivering it. In the example of a Pokémon who was naturally strong like Dragonite, it was one of the highest importance. In Sinnoh, Dragonite was only second to Garchomp in priority.

The Dragon Pokémon flew over their house and landed facing its front with a resounding thud. Lucas quickly made his way to the front through the back, cautiously approaching the Dragonite.

The creature tensed at the boy's coming, a soft growl emanating from its throat.

Lucas raised his hands to show he meant no harm but was cautious as he approached the beast. Coming around at its side, Lucas noticed that the Dragonite absolutely dwarfed him, standing at well over seven feet. The boy looked up and saw that the message was attached to the dragon's horn. Lucas nervously cleared his throat. "Uh… M-may I have the letter p-please?" He wasn't accustomed to Pokémon so large. The largest he'd ever encountered so far was his mother's Delcatty, which wasn't even four feet tall.

The Dragonite snorted, then lowered his large head until he was at eye level with the reluctant child.

Lucas untied the letter from the dragon's curly horn- who straightened and snorted in understanding- before he unfurled the letter.

As he scanned the letter quickly, Lucas's eyes widened as they landed on a name, a name of someone he hadn't seen in a year.

_Professor E. S. Rowan_

He slowly closed the scroll, taking in the news that the letter contained.

"Mom?!" he called from the other side of the house.

"Yes, dear?"

Lucas took a deep breath, a small smile playing on his lips. He pushed the rectangular crimson glasses that he wore farther up his nose. He swallowed hard before smiling again. "Grandpa's coming home from Kanto, and he's got a job for me! He wants me to be his Head Assistant!"

* * *


	2. The Orange Flash and the Pink Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I have what you've been waiting for: chapter 2 of Pokemon Nyctophobia!
> 
> I just got this back from my beta reader Anonymous1O1, so it's in much better shape than it was the last time I posted it, so thanks to him for helping me with the edits. I appreciate the continued support for the stories I have so far, thanks so much, it means more than you know. If you have any thoughts on this chapter or the last on- be it constructive criticism, ideas that could influence how I write this, however minimal they are, or just things about the story in general, please let me know because I would love to hear what you think. Also, put your predictions of what teams our heroes are going to have, I want to see your ideas.
> 
> All right, that's enough from me! Enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review, and I'll see you later.
> 
> Until then...
> 
> May Arceus protect you!
> 
> \- AncientHero

* * *

_**Chapter 2: The Orange Flash and the Pink Princess** _

* * *

**I** t had been a year since Dawn had moved to Sinnoh, far away from the familiar shores of Hoenn.

The move had left her bitter for quite some time, especially since her mother had to postpone her becoming a Pokémon Trainer for "a while". What Johanna didn't tell her was that it would take the entire time that they had lived in Sinnoh for to get another chance at accomplishing one of her main goals, aside from collecting Gym Badges.

She had this whole thing planned out once she turned twelve, the age when kids like her could become Trainers in her previous home. The people of Hoenn believed that being twelve was a better age than ten because the kids were finally able to make decisions on their own and handle themselves. She had planned everything, the Starter Pokémon she was picking, the places she was going to visit, even the strategies she was going to use against the Gym Leaders. She was about to tell her parents that she was leaving…

But everything fell through when she was told they were moving.

To say that Dawn was angry was a huge understatement. She wasn't the type to yell and scream when she was mad, but she would start saying snappish and rude things, leaving her mother speechless as she stomped over to her room in a fury.

Dawn had sat in her room fuming for several hours because, even though the reasons as to why they had to move were good, she still felt a little frustrated at what the move had cost.

She was going to pick Torchic as her starter!

She was going to beat all those Gym Leaders and take their Badges as rightfully hers!

The thought of just losing the chance to go on a Pokémon journey made her want to cry inside as she thought back to that incident, but Dawn kept her composure. The sun was beginning to rise as these thoughts had come to her in the early morning hours, rousing her from her peaceful sleep.

Feeling that there was nothing better for her do, Dawn got out of bed, grabbing her pink coat and beanie and a pair of jeans before stepping out of her room quietly.

In about half an hour Dawn gotten herself ready, dressed in the clothes that she picked out and ready to seize the day. She opened a window in her room and could feel the crisp, cold, winter air on her face. Breathing a sigh of relief, she welcomed it, letting herself indulge in it for a few moments before shutting it and skipping down the stairs.

A call from her mother greeted her as she made her way down the stairs.

"You're up early; what's the rush for? Johanna asked.

Dawn stifled a yawn with her hand, blinking her sapphire eyes several times before considering her mother's brown ones. She had most of her mother's looks: everything except the eyes of course.

"I'm not rushing for anything. Just you know…"

She didn't finish her sentence.

Johanna nodded, understanding. Dawn had fallen into this habit where she would get up unreasonably early for someone her age because it was something that she had planned on doing when she got her Pokemon. She wanted to get out of the house as soon as she could, hopefully, to make her parents proud.

Dawn ate her breakfast- which consisted of an Oran Berry muffin and an apple- quietly. She then washed up and walked out of the front door, admiring the view of the orange sun over the horizon, its rays of light basking the town of Twinleaf in morning's glow.

She was about to take a step…

When she suddenly crashed into something.

 _No, I didn't crash into it, it crashed into me._  Dawn had time to think this before she fell uncomfortably on her back, a headache plaguing her to add on top of that.

"Hey! Watch where you're going you-"

She didn't realize who was yelling at until that someone laughed painfully, which was followed by a series of coughs.

She recognized that laugh.

"Barry?"

The blond boy got up. One of his green eyes were closed, a hand on his already wild hair, making it look even messier. As he got up, his orange and white striped cardigan and green scarf flapped in the morning wind.

"Yeah," he wheezed. "Who were you expecting? Santa Claus?"

At this answer, Dawn responded by bursting into a fit of laughter, to the point where tears of mirth were leaking down her cheeks. Barry gave her a moment to recollect herself, then helped her up when she was calm. She brushed her coat and pants free of excess snow before looking over to her childhood friend.

"So, what are you doing up so early?" she asked him.

"Same reason you're early!" was all that he said.

Dawn frowned at him, crossing her arms in irritation. "Barry, you know as well as I do that the Professor hasn't been in his lab for the past year, which is absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. There's no way that we would be able to get our Pokémon now. Even though we should," she added grumpily.

Barry grinned widely at her. "What if I told you he just came back? Would you believe me?"

"Heck N-O kid! Not unless you had irrefutable proof. If you do, then I DEMAND that you show it to me right NOW!"

Barry raised his hands in defeat. "Okay, Okay, you pink-clad sass mistress! Seriously, part of me thinks you're part Charizard! Please don't blow a Flamethrower in my face, I just got my hair gelled."

"If I'm a Charizard then what are you? A Crobat?"

Barry shrugged. "I don't know, but I saw this thing on the TV where a reporter was interviewing Professor Rowan about his trip to Kanto and the professor said that he'd be returning to work as soon as possible, and that was yesterday, so..."

"Are ya sure?" Dawn asked, looking at him quizzically.

Barry nodded vigorously, his messy hair flapping. "Yeah. Are you doubting your best friend?" He frowned at her as he said this.

Her eyes narrowed. "Maybe a little bit," she answered.

The blond boy ground his black sneakers into the dirt. If this was out of nervousness or anticipation Dawn couldn't guess for the life of her. It was hard to tell what Barry was thinking. You could calculate how fast he could run, but you couldn't tell what ideas could come out of his head. No matter what the idea, they have gotten Dawn in trouble on many occasions.

"What are you thinking Barry?" she asked, leaning over to him with hands on her hips.

His grin returned in a matter of seconds. "Since Rowan's back, I was thinking that we go and see him to get a Pokémon. It's about time we started our own journey you know?"

Dawn sighed, hanging her head. "I know what you mean. But, I get nervous whenever you think."

Barry's grin got even wider, which made Dawn's nerves spike up. "Don't get your beanie in a knot there Dawn! There's no need to worry." He got into a running stance, as if he was about to sprint a mile, that grin ever present on his face,

Dawn sighed putting her hands over her eyes. "Please don't do anything stupid. Don't you remember the last time you ran off somewhere without me?"

Barry frowned for a fraction of a second. "Nope. But you don't need to worry! I got a plan so that we can get our first Pokémon TODAY, no ifs, ands, or buts about it!" He looked like he was about to sprint off again-as he usually would during a situation like this- but he stopped and thought for a moment.

He turned back to his friend, grinning so widely that Dawn was afraid that his face would split in half under the strain. "Hey Dawn, after our little adventure -you gotta tell Auntie Johanna that you went to see the professor and welcome him home and that we got our own Pokemon. If you're not over by Route 201 in the next thirty seconds, then I'ma gonna fine you!"

He then dashed off, leaving a confused Dawn in the dust.

"That kid!" she yelled, throwing her arms up in the air. "I swear he would get himself killed without me!"

She then jogged after him, heading north to Route 201 while fuming.

Dawn nearly ran into the boy, who was standing by the sign signaling the start of the route. He had his arms folded, and looked like he was getting impatient.

_I don't understand how time works for him, and I don't think I ever will._

"Alright, Barry I'm here. I know you want to get a Pokemon, but how are we going to do that without going through the grass? You know our moms told us not to, otherwise, we'll get attacked. Or did you not think that through?" She asked with a grin.

"I actually did," he retorted, glaring at her. "But I've got an idea."

"I can't wait to hear it," Dawn muttered.

"No seriously!" Barry spread his arms out. "Like, if we just rush through the grass, we're less likely to run into wild Pokemon!" He turned and faced the grass, staring it down as if it were his enemy. He then grinned again and backed up several feet before getting into his running stance again, seemingly frozen.

"Hey, Dawn watch this! I'm gonna run into the tall grass!"

She turned away, folding her arms. Don't come crawling back when you're scratched up."

"I'm still going to do it though."

"Whatever, it won't get us anywhere."

"Sure, it will! We'll have our own Pokemon in no time flat!"

She yawned. "All right, knock yourself out." _Literally,_

"OK! Here I go! On your mark… get set… G-

"What do you think you're doing?!


	3. The Good Professor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Hi, it's AncientHero again. Here I have chapter three! I want to thank you guys for being patient because it took me a while to edit this one, but I guess I managed just fine. I hope you like the chapter, even though you might think it's a bit short. Don't worry, for those of you who are wondering, this is where the story is going to pick up I promise. I just don't want to go too fast you know? I think after the next couple of chapters it'll start to get going, even more, I'll see what I can do.
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to like follow and review!
> 
> Until I see you in the next chapter...
> 
> May Arceus protect you!

* * *

_** Chapter 3: The Good Professor ** _

* * *

 

 **B** arry and Dawn had frozen in their tracks at the sound of the new voice. By its gruffness, they could tell that they had trodden on the wrong foot. Neither of them was sure what the consequences of this would be.

Professor Elliot Seymore Rowan certainly didn't look impressed with the sight that was before him. Two children had attempted to rush into the tall grass, with absolutely no way to defend themselves. Such an action was foolhardy!  _What had caused them to do this?_

The two of them nervously looked up at the man who was frowning at them, his beady brown eyes shifting between one guilty look to the next. He sighed, but not before he put his hands in the pockets of his brown suit jacket.

Barry leaned in closer to Dawn's ear. "Hey Dawn, this old guy's Professor Rowan, right?" He sounded nervous, that wasn't like him. She discretely nodded back, not sure if the professor had noticed, but that was the least of her worries now. What was the man going to do? Just thinking about it made her palms sweat.

Rowan cleared his throat to get their attention again.

"Excuse me, dear children," he started. His voice still had a bit of that gruffness to it but it had lost all the harshness that previously had. Dawn tensed waiting for the hammer blow that she knew was going to come.

"You two don't have any Pokémon between you?"

They just stared at him, unsure if they could answer this question. They were afraid of what he had to say. Dawn decided to smile nervously, while Barry simple shrugged. Dawn held her breath as the elder continued.

"Then what is the meaning of going into the tall grass?" the researcher demanded. He had a critical gaze on both, seemingly waiting for one of them to answer. Neither of them did for that moment until Barry opened his mouth.

 _Barry, no!_ Dawn screamed in her head.

He looked up nervously at his superior. "Well, you see Professor…" he started nervously, his eyes quivering just a bit under Rowan's gaze before stopping.

Rowan turned his head to the boy. "Yes, lad? What is the meaning of this tomfoolery at this early hour? Please do enlighten me." Barry seemed to shrink even more under the firm gaze of the professor. He looked more nervous than any other time that Dawn had ever seen him. She was getting more nervous as well.

" Well I, uh…" Barry muttered. It was barely audible to her, so she doubted that the professor had heard any of that.

"Speak up lad!" Rowan said.

"Okay, okay!" Barry lowered his head squinting his eyes shut for a moment.

Dawn couldn't take any more of this pressure, so she decided to lie. It was her only other option, which only made her even more afraid for them.

"Professor Rowan…" she started to say, but was cut off.

"It was my idea!" Barry blurted out. His tone was nothing short of a wail. The girl next to him could even see tears of shame seeping down his cheeks. "It was my idea to go into the tall grass! But I was only doing it so I could get a Pokémon! He sucked in a huge breath and exhaled slowly, wiping away the remaining tears before continuing.

His voice was surprisingly calm as he professed longer to the man in front of him. Dawn was gently rubbing his back, trying to comfort her friend, whispering the occasional word of encouragement. Even though before, when they encountered the professor for the first time, Dawn wasn't exactly eager to share the truth. But since Barry was the one who decided to be honest. He was lifting the guilt off her shoulders, getting rid of the feeling for her. She was proud of him for taking the responsibility where she could not.

The professor was silent before suddenly walking away from them. He seemed to be thinking something over.

"Uh… What's that about?" Barry whispered.

Dawn patted him on the shoulder and put a finger to her lips, telling him not to worry.

 _They tried going into the tall grass because they wanted Pokémon,_ the professor thought.  _Is it right for me to put them on that path?_ Rowan gave the notion another good minute of thought before turning and directing his attention to the pair. He had decided to test them.

He cleared his throat as he resumed his place in front of them.

"You two. You truly love Pokémon, don't you?" Rowan inquired of them.

Barry and Dawn nodded. "Yes, sir."

The old man cleared his throat again. "I will ask you once again. Truly, do you love Pokémon?"

The looked him quizzically, not sure why he had repeated himself. He frowned at them, and flicked his eyes between the two once again, before saying: "You are quite sure, yes?"

Barry growled at this. Clearly, he was frustrated with being asked the same question twice. "You can ask the question a hundred times, but the answer will always be the same! We love Pokémon!"

Professor Rowan folded his arms over his blue dress shirt. "You say that you love Pokémon, yet you're a pair of reckless kids who foolishly try to enter tall grass without Pokémon of your own? It worries me what people like that would do with Pokémon. His expression had not changed through all of that."

Dawn had to concede that the man had a fair point. They had indeed been reckless, but wasn't it for a good cause? It wasn't as if their intentions weren't good. Had the just come all the way out here for nothing? She hoped that she was wrong yet part of her knew that she was at least as guilty as Barry was, if not more, for following him and even more so for allowing him to run into the tall grass. It was his fault as much as hers for allowing Barry to almost get hurt like that. She had put her friend at risk, and she was going to take responsibility for that.

She was about to tell this to the professor but was once again interrupted by Barry.

"Professor Rowan I'm sorry for what we did, it was entirely my fault. You don't have to give me a Pokémon. But at least give one to my friend Dawn here, she wasn't involved with this. I was the one who made the decision to rush through the tall grass. Please, don't punish Dawn for my mistakes.

To their surprise, Professor Rowan smiled. "How bold of you, dear lad to stand up for your friend like that, against the charges that I've set for you both. Well done to you my young friends, I apologize for that test."

"Thanks, Barry," Dawn whispered.

"Don't mention it, Dawn," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Barry then smiled at his friend, who couldn't help but do the same.

A moment later, Rowan spoke again, causing the two children to jump at the sudden noise. They hadn't realized that he was going to speak again so soon. They had been too absorbed in their side conversation it seemed.

"I've decided!" The Professor announced

"Decided what, sir?" Barry and Dawn asked in unison.

Rowan stroked his mustache with a smile. "I've decided that I will entrust you… both of you with a Pokémon of your very own. "But," he added, raising a finger. "You must promise me that you will no longer endanger your selves again. Do I have I have your word as future Trainers of the Sinnoh region?"

Barry saluted the professor with a wide grin. "You've got it, Professor Rowan!"

Dawn smiled and placed a fist on her coat, where her heart would've been, and bowed. "You have my word. Thank you, Professor Rowan."

Seymore chuckled "Good, good, I knew I could trust you. Again, I apologize for putting you through that exercise earlier."

Dawn shook her head. "It's no problem, sir."

"Yeah. No big deal," Barry added with a shrug.

The fellow rubbed his hands together. "Even to this day I still feel the excitement of being in the presence of Pokémon. It's been many years since I've had my own, and yet I can't help but feel the excitement. It's positively thrilling." He laughed, and Dawn and Barry responded with laughs of their own.

"Now, where did I put that briefcase?" he asked himself. Rowan turned to look behind him, around the two friends, and near the edge of Twinleaf Town, but to no avail. It was simply not anywhere near them. After another run through the nearby area, the professor stuffed his gnarled hands in his pockets, defeated.

He sighed which ruffled his mustache. "I'm sorry kids, but I can't seem to find my briefcase."

"Aww! We won't get our Pokémon?" Barry whined. He hung his head.

"We could come back tomorrow," Dawn suggested.

The professor scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Yes, I agree. That would seem best."

"Thank you for your time, Professor. C'mon Barry." She extended her hand to him and he took it, muttering a thanks to the professor has he passed- receiving a nod from the man in return- as the two of them set off, heading for home in a saddened state.

"Wait!" they heard someone call. "Professor Rowan!"

The three of them turned to see a boy coming up the road clutching a briefcase in his hand while holding his crimson rectangular glasses in place with the other. He looked about Dawn and Barry's age, with brown eyes that darted around worriedly. His steel gray hair, thick white scarf, blue jacket, and the ankles of his black pants were being blown behind him.

As soon as he was by the professor's side, he put the case down and bent down, exhausted.

"I'm terribly sorry for me being a little late professor. The other assistants had a little trouble in the lab, so they needed… me to take care of the problem." The boy's eyes flicked down towards the brown briefcase as he finished the sentence.

"Professor, who's this?" Dawn asked.

The boy's face turned red at her question, he stood up quickly and introduced himself. "I'm Lucas; Professor Rowan's head assistant."

"What's that? A glorified secretary?" Barry asked, genuinely curious.

Lucas shrugged.

Rowan got Lucas's attention. "Open the case, my boy. We have aspiring Trainers standing before us!

Lucas seemed surprised. "Are you sure about this Professor?"

"Quite sure," Rowan replied with a nod.

His assistant nodded, bending down and opening the case. Within it where multiple neatly stacked papers talking about things that only Arceus knew other than the professor. But, Dawn was set on another prize. There were indeed three Poke Balls in the case, but one of them was gray with blue orbs dotting its center. Dawn had only read books about it, but recognized it almost instantly.

A Heavy Ball.

"Hey Barry, come look at this," Dawn called him over.

The blonde came over and crouched next to his friend. He looked at it for a second. After a moment he scratched his head, obviously confused with what he was seeing. "Hey, Mr. Rowan, what's with the Ball on the left? Why is it gray?"

As they admired what was inside the case, Rowan said something to Lucas in his ear, who nodded in response, saying his goodbye quickly. Professor Rowan further apologized that he couldn't wish the two well and that he would when he got the chance. The man quietly left the scene. He had left the fledgling Trainers in capable hands.

Lucas answered for the professor, crouching down in between the other two. "Sorry, but the professor said that he needed to run an errand. And, to answer your question, that's a Heavy Ball. They're only made in Johto- where I used to live- before…" he trailed off, looking sad for a moment.

"So what Pokémon's in it?" Barry demanded.

Lucas paid the eccentric boy his attention again. "Are you asking because you want this one?"

"No. I don't even know what we're going to get, so just tell me what's in it."

Rowan's aid looked disappointed. "Right, of course, you don't."

Silence prolonged between the three for a few moments, until Dawn decided to break it. "So, Lucas, what are we going to see here?" She gave him an apologetic look for her friend's behavior.

He perked back up quickly. "Of course. The Pokémon we're looking at here are a Grass-type, a Fire-type, and a Water-type. They're called Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup."

Barry suddenly looked back and forth between the Poke Balls. "Which one is Chimchair in?" he asked to no one in particular.

Lucas smiled, glad that the boy was eager. "It's the one on the right but-"

Before Lucas could finish, the blonde boy grabbed the ball on the right and dashed off without another word.

Lucas groaned. "I didn't even get to finish!" He looked and clearly was upset by this.

Dawn smiled sadly at him. "Don't worry about him," Dawn said, "He's always like that."

Lucas looked even more upset about it. "Yes, I could tell."

"Hey, I'm still here," Dawn offered, leaning forward and smiling sweetly at the boy.

He hurriedly pushed his glasses up. "O-oh right," stammered. "You would have three options, but it got away pretty fast. I hope that you didn't want to pick Chimchar." Lucas laughed nervously.

"Don't worry. I wasn't planning to anyway." She bent back down and picked the Ball in the middle.

"Piplup's a good choice. Once she's fully evolved she'll be good at dishing out Special Attacks, as well as being very defensive too, so she'll be a good choice for you. But with every starter, it will take a lot of care and patience to get there."

"Piplup is a she? Aren't female Starter Pokémon really rare?"

Lucas nodded. "The professor was surprised. I mean, it's not every day that you find a Starter Pokémon, let alone one that's female. Once she hatched Rowan would call her his 'Lucky Egg'."

"That's cute!"

Lucas nodded again.

Dawn checked her watch before looking back at the briefcase. It was almost 8 a.m.

"I better get going. What'll happen to the Turtwig?"

Lucas bent down and heaved the case up. "I'll take him back to the lab and straighten him out. What's ironic about him is that he's really stubborn. I think the tamest or the one most likely to listen is the Chimchar. Usually, Grass-types are gentle, but not this one." Lucas shook the case before grinning. It was a nervous one, but a grin even so.

"So, I'll come back and thank the professor later?" Dawn asked, following Lucas a bit down the road.

"Yes, the professor would appreciate that, miss…? He looked at her for a name.

The girl stretched out her hand. "I'm Dawn. It's nice to meet you."

Lucas switched the case between arms so that he was shaking her left hand with his right. "It's a pleasure to meet you too Dawn," he said. "A fair word of warning though," he added. "That Piplup is very proud, I learned that the hard way. I also hatched her from that egg myself, so take good care of her."

"That's good to know."

The two of them separated in opposite directions under the rising sun. Dawn couldn't wait to tell her mom about what happened as she skipped happily back to Twinleaf Town.


	4. A Long and Hard Road Ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Hey guys, it's AncientHero again! Here's another update for you, chapter 4! I hope that this isn't too soon of an update but I don't think anyone will be bothered by it. On a bit of a different note, I have a few chapters that are already finished, so they should come up pretty quick. As for the ones that still need to be written, I will try to get these out for you at the beginning or the end of the week, but I'm not making any promises given how my beta and I are working at this. Like I said, I'm going to try; but nothing's set in stone. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter! If you're new, make sure to read the other chapters if you have no idea what's going on. Oh, and don't forget to follow and review the story if you'd like!
> 
> And until I see you in the next chapter,
> 
> May Arceus protect you!

* * *

_** Chapter 4: A Long and Hard Road Ahead ** _

* * *

**B** arry dashed to his house as fast as humanly possible. He couldn't wait to tell his mother the great news! He was going to become a Pokémon Trainer, one of the many dreams that he had had since his childhood, or at least, the earlier years of his childhood. Just holding the Poke Ball in his hands gave him a thrill.

He only wished that he could have gotten there faster.

As he was making his way down the cobblestone pathways of Twinleaf Town, he thought about what he was going to do once he started his journey ( _Freaking finally!_ ). His first thought was on what Pokémon he was going to use, but, secretly, he had no idea what he was going to use for whatever he eventually decided on doing, or whatever he would later accomplish on his journey.

Eventually would have to wait though, or move aside, because Barry needed to figure out some sort of end goal. Otherwise, he was going to be a sitting duck, and he really didn't want that to happen. There was no way that he was going to lose to Dawn on this journey! He had no idea what she was going to do either, but there was no way he was going to get shown up by a slow person like her, no way, no how!

_There's that other kid too, the professor's assistant. No idea if he's going to become a Trainer, but it could happen. What was his name again? Raul? Larry? Luke? Whatever his name is, he won't beat me even if he does become a Trainer._

Barry stopped running, -or at least tried to- at the sight of his house. He didn't realize how fast he was going because when he tried to stop, he slid a few feet away from where he was planning to, and landed face-first into his slightly overgrown yard.

"Oh, come on! Really? I've been practicing that sweet move for weeks, and I still can't get the darn thing right! Barry, what is wrong with you?!" He smacked himself on the forehead. He brushed off the dirt from his pants as he straightened himself. Shaking his head, the boy proceeded to close the distance between him and the house. Taking a key from his pocket he unlocked the door, entering as quietly as was humanly possible for someone like him. He was certain that his mother was still asleep at this hour.

Barry jogged up the stairs as quietly as he could but was a bit irritated that he couldn't move as fast as was necessary. Nevertheless, he made it to his room without disrupting anyone or causing any trouble for himself.

He opened his room's door swiftly, ignoring the untidiness as he reached the desk near his bed. Opening the desk drawer, he produced the journal that his mother got him for his birthday, storing it inside his brown backpack before slipping on a brown winter coat over his striped shirt.

Barry then proceeded to his parent's room, knocking on the door softly. He only had to wait a moment before the door was answered by his mom. She had a tired look in her green eyes, with tangled blonde hair that hadn't been taken care of yet. Nonetheless, she was dressed and mostly ready for the day. Shauna, Barry's mother was a teacher at the Jubilife City Trainer School, helping the younger ones with their battle strategies and so forth.

She stifled a yawn as she opened the door a bit farther, her eyes half closed. "Good morning Barry, what brings you here at this early hour? I need to prepare the lesson on Pokémon Type match-ups, so I might be up here for a bit."

Barry grinned at his mother. That grin that was identical to his father's. It would always spell out trouble or mischief for them and whoever was with them. It meant that they had some outlandish plan that could only land them and their friends in some sort of trouble. Shauna frowned at this. She had seen that smile from the boy's father plenty of times ever since they had met. She saw it even more so today, and when she was on a Pokémon journey with a few friends, which included the boy that would become her husband later on.

"I know that look," she said. "Your father would give it to me whenever he had a crazy idea. Just what kind of trouble did you land yourself in now Mr. Barry Heartwood?"

Barry let out a mock gasp, putting a hand on his heart with a pained expression on his face. "Mother, how could you?! Accuse me of getting into trouble? Why, as your son I would never do such a thing, not in a million years! I would never dream of such doing such a thing."

His facial expressions during the whole display were rather dramatic. Shauna had to stop herself from laughing halfway through it. Barry sure knew how to change someone's mood whenever he felt such interference was necessary. Once the woman's silent fits of laughter of had ceased, she redirected her attention back to her son, who was wearing a frown like the one that she had previously. She blinked several times at the sudden change in attitude, wondering what was on her boy's mind.

"What is it Barry?" she finally managed to ask. The blond youth had to try hard to not roll his eyes at the question. Sometimes she was slow, just like Dawn and that other kid." _Come on Mom, don't you think you're a little too slow on the uptake?"_ he wondered.

Barry inhaled deeply before answering. "Mom, I haven't gotten into any trouble or anything like that, I just came over here because I have some big news that I'd like to share!"

His mother's brow furrowed. "What kind of news?" she asked.

_What kind do you think?_ He wanted to ask, but he held his tongue.

The boy clenched his fists with excitement, that huge grin present on his face again.

"I'm going to be a Trainer mom. It's been my life's dream to become one! Dawn and I got a Pokémon from good old Professor Rowan and everything! Just thinking about it makes me giddy inside. I'm so happy that I can't keep a straight face! So, can I go on a Pokémon journey please, please, please?" Barry got down on his knees, looking up pleadingly at his mother and anxiously awaiting her verdict. These next few words would decide his fate. He hoped that he would be given the chance for this once in a lifetime opportunity. He already had to wait two years for this because of their move from Hoenn; he hoped that the same thing wouldn't happen again.

_Oh please, whatever god there is above, let her say yes. Please, please!_

_Oh Arceus, may you protect my dear boy throughout this surely dangerous journey. Please, I ask you this favor, to watch over him. Protect him in his time of need, when his mother cannot._

Shauna exhaled for a solid ten seconds before finally answering her son. "Okay you can go," she decided, raising her hands up. "But, I don't want you going out there on your own," she charged the eccentric boy.

Barry's face brightened at this. "Oh okay, I'll bring Dawn with me. She got a Pokemon from Professor Rowan too. She just needs to talk to her mom to see if she can go with me. I'm sure she'll be able to though," he added with a smile.

"For your sake, I hope you're right."

* * *

Mornings at Dawn's house were usually slow, especially when breakfast was just finished. Johanna was washing the dishes, while Dawn was sweeping the floors, looking for any stray particles of dust that she might have missed on her first go around. As she was working, Dawn tried her best to think of a way where she could break to her mother that she wanted to go on a Pokémon journey. Granted she and her mother were on good terms, it was just that Dawn wasn't exactly sure how to explain to her intentions because that could result in her mother melting down.

Dawn had deliberately stayed at the front of the house, near the upstairs staircase and the kitchen. But, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to start a conversation. The house was quiet save for the washing of dishes and the sweeping of the floor. Just thinking of starting the conversation made her nervous, her palms sweating as she gripped the handle of the broom. Taking a deep breath, she continued sweeping farther down the hall, trying not to stay too long in one place in fear that Johanna might get suspicious.

_Come on you can do this, you wimp!_ she thought to herself.  _Get a hold of yourself! I mean how hard is to ask your own mom for permission to go on a Pokémon journey?_

Apparently, this was a very difficult task for her, because whenever the opportunity presented itself, Dawn would waste it without realizing it. She would find herself by the kitchen time and time again, having finally plucked up the courage to ask, but she found herself tongue-tied.

"Do you want some tea, Dawn?"

She was broken out of her reverie at her mother's question, whirling around in surprise at the sound of her voice.

"I'm sorry, what?" Dawn asked nervously, gripping the broom tighter than was necessary. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized that she passed by the kitchen again. She must have formed some sort of rut where she would pass by the kitchen every few minutes. Luckily Johanna started the conversation for her, so that meant she could do more of the talking and get this thought off her mind.

Dawn relaxed her iron grip from the broom and laughed with a nervous smile. She rubbed the back of her head with embarrassment, trying to process what her mother asked.

"Uh, could I have some hot chocolate instead? Just don't make it too hot."

Johanna mirrored the nervous smile with her own. "All right, it'll be ready in a few minutes." She disappeared back into the kitchen, and Dawn pretended to go back to sweeping the floor again, her thoughts still raging inside her head.

She still wasn't sure how she was going to ask her mother but felt that if all else failed, she would just ask.

Then something snapped. Her fingers closed around the Poke Ball hidden in her bag.

"Mom, I have to show you something." She threw the ball in the air.

A loud popping noise filled the room, and in a flash of blue light, a Piplup appeared in front of Dawn. The Piplup puffed out her chest proudly, chirping indignantly as she held her beak in the air.

Johanna just stared at the pair for the span of a solid minute. Then, to Dawn's surprise, a smile slowly spread across her face. The girl waited for her mother's response, which seemed like an eternity before Johanna walked up to her daughter and slowly embraced her. The two of them remained there for a few minutes until Dawn cleared her throat. When Johanna broke the hug, her daughter saw that there were tears staining her pale cheeks.

The girl was confused, her mouth slightly agape. This was the exact opposite reaction that she was expecting from her mother. Dawn was expecting her to cry- she was certain that her mother was going to- but she was not expecting her to be crying with tears of joy. Still shocked by her mother's reaction, Dawn started to ask her question.

"U-um can I go on a journey with Barry and Galatea?"

"Galatea?" Johanna asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dawn laced her fingers together with a shy smile. She looked down at the Piplup that was before her, smiling as she remembered scouring her mind for a good nickname. "That's my new name for her. Galatea is the name of one of Neptune's moons, which is a cold planet, it's blue, she's blue… Yeah." The girl laughed nervously.

Johanna leaned forward until she was at eye-level with her daughter. "If you think it's a good name for your Piplup, then that's fine with me."

Dawn smiled. "Thanks."

Johanna looked at the clock that was on the stove, a curious expression on her face. "Looks like you better get ready for that hard road ahead. Do you need any help?"

The girl shrugged. "Sure, why not," she agreed, and then, mother and daughter proceeded up to Dawn's room, ready to prepare her for the long road that lay before her. A road full of adventure and challenge, as she learned what it meant to be a Trainer.

* * *

Lucas clicked a pen against his desk, drumming the fingers of his left hand against it as he studied the Pokémon that was before him. The creature in question was the Turtwig that he had brought back from Route 201 earlier that morning. What he had said about the Grass-type to that girl from before- her name was Dawn he thought- proved to be true once again, dashing the boy's hopes that he would change.

Simply put, he was stubborn and aggressive. This went completely against what the boy knew about Grass-types. They were supposed to be gentle and loving, which was the opposite attitude that this Turtwig had, he was more like a Charmeleon then anything else. When Lucas had released him, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon nearly bit him, caused the boy,- with a little assistance- to put the Turtwig in a metal cage so that he could continue the report that he was working on. Lucas hated to see the creature this way but was his only option.

From within his confinement, the Turtwig narrowed his yellow eyes. The sapling growing on his head was bent back in irritation. The turtle growled, bashing his head against the bars, which rattled them.

At the sound, Lucas looked up from the report he was filing. He clicked his tongue with pity, a sad look in his eyes.

"You know I don't like putting you in there. Not anymore then you like staying in there. If you would just cooperate, let Professor Rowan look you over, then it would be a lot easier for the three of us."

Turtwig growled.

"Oh, come on, would it really be that hard? It would only take Pappy a couple minutes to look you over. When he found you, you weren't in the best shape, which is understandable. I mean if the same thing happened to me I would be irritable as well, I get it! But that doesn't mean that you have the right to act like that around everyone. We didn't do that to you,  _they_ did!"

The Pokemon looked at him in a way that said: " _You don't understand"_.

_I understand better than most, Turtwig,_ he thought sadly.

The Pokémon growled again.

Lucas grunted in return, pushing his glasses up before writing one last note on the report. Upon finishing he looked up to see the door to the professor's office open, and the man himself stepped out, approaching the Head Assistant with a brisk stride.

"Lucas, will you please have a Pokémon deliver these to our two young friends from this morning, I want them at my lab as soon as possible!" he stated, handing the letters over to the boy, who took them without hesitation. With a nod, Lucas walked towards the lab's front entrance.

"You. Stay put," the boy ordered the disgruntled Turtwig as he opened the door. He closed it with a satisfying snap before stepping out into the cool morning air. Looking around before setting off, Rowan's grandson proceeded to the nearby post office of Sandgem Town. He quickly explained his intentions to the clerk at the desk and opened the door to the next room, where all the mail delivery Pokémon would be waiting.

The best way to describe this room would be if he were standing in the middle of a barn. Each Pokémon had their own stall, tailored so that they had enough room to move and sleep comfortably, each one having their own food. Most of the Pokémon there were Flying-types, but there was the occasional faster Pokémon- like Tauros, Dragonite, or Alakazam- as well as the rarely found Garchomp. Behind the barn-like building was a fenced clearing where the Pokémon could roam and play.

Lucas made his way outside to the clearing- briefly stopping to pat a nearby Tauros on the head- before stopping at a nearby tree, which had a nest of sleeping Starly. He was looking for their mother, a rather bad-tempered Staraptor. After looking up at the many branches of the tree and finding them empty aside from the one that the rest had, Rowan's assistant resigned from accomplishing the task.

Until the Pokémon he was looking for landed right in front of him, a fierce look in her red eyes.

Lucas gulped at the sight of her.

Even though the Staraptor was shorter than he was, Lucas couldn't help but be a bit intimidated by her gaze. It didn't exactly help that she was advancing on him too. She cawed angrily at him, prompting a nervous smile to adorn his face, and a drop of sweat to roll down his neck.

"Easy girl," he tried to soothe her, holding up his hands cautiously as he did with the Dragonite. "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just me, Lucas, don't you remember me?" he added, rubbing the back of his head with a nervous laugh.

The Staraptor glared at him.

He decided to change the subject. "I was just looking for you, actually! I have these letters that need to be delivered from Professor Rowan." Lucas held them out.

At the mention of the boy's employer, Estrella the Staraptor seemed to relax. Stepping closer to the hawk, Lucas pressed the letters into her beak.

Lucas was greeted by the professor as he walked back in.

"I trust that you had no trouble?" Rowan asked, folding his arms. He eyed the boy with what looked like curiosity.

His grandson nodded. "Not too much, but Estrella still hasn't taken too much of a liking to me. I mean, I know that Staraptor aren't the happiest or calmest things on the planet, but it's been three months." Lucas sighed, his expression downcast.

Rowan put a hand on his shoulder, causing the boy too to look up in surprise. "Do not let that deter you, my boy; every Pokémon has a different personality. Some are harder to get to know that others; things like these take time."

Lucas smiled sadly. "Yes, sir."

Elliott smiled back. "Come, let's go get ready for our young guests. We need them to be ready for the journey that awaits them."

"Can I take Turtwig with us, sir?"

"You could, but I took the liberty to get him for you," Rowan stated.

The boy jumped in the air, whooping with joy, glad that he didn't have to deal with the little beast himself. Each encounter was never good, the odds were never in his favor. However, he stopped as soon as he saw the Professor's stern expression.

"Uh, I-I'm sorry sir," he stammered, readjusting his glasses.

The Professor merely smiled. To Lucas's surprise, he lifted Turtwig and handed him to the boy. Lucas gingerly reached out to the small turtle, who slowly walked into his arms.

"Wow, you're actually heavier than I thought," Lucas said.

Turning around in his hands, Turtwig opened his mouth sprayed a gust of sand which splattered all over the boy's face, who coughed and spluttered.

"Hey! Don't do that!"

With his free hand, Lucas tried to brush the sand out of his eyes, as the professor and the Tiny Leaf Pokémon laughed.


	5. Room To Spread My Wings Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I'm back again with another chapter of Pokemon Nyctophobia. This one took me a little while to finish up. There were so many ideas that were going through my head as I wrote this that sometimes, I had to stop writing in order get my head cleared. Oh well! Anyway, what you're about to read is the final product, with all of the loose ends tied when it comes to editing. For me, this chapter was interesting to write because at first I wasn't exactly sure where I wanted it to go, but I think what we have here is my best attempt and is one I'm happy with, thanks to the help of my beta reader.
> 
> Don't forget to review and give feedback as well as some of your thoughts.
> 
> -AncientHero

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Room to Spread My Wings Part 1** _

* * *

**W** hen Dawn and Barry got the letter from the Professor, neither of them was going to wait any longer.

Johanna and her daughter were just putting together what she needed until they were interrupted by the sound of a rushing wind. A shadow loomed over the window for the briefest of moments, leaving them perplexed. Neither of them could tell what it was. Then, it hovered just in front of the window. The Staraptor's caw was muffled by the glass of the window. After a second the bird resigned to just having to wait, a surly look was on its face as it waited a bit impatiently by the closed window.

"Dawn, could you please get the window, I'm trying to organize everything." Johanna's voice was rather distant and quiet as she looked at the things that were in front of her: Repels, extra rations, more clothes, Dawn's sleeping bag and journal, and a few other paraphernalia that she found that could prove useful in the future.

Dawn opened the window, and the Staraptor cawed once again before sticking out its beak to her in irritation. There was a letter clasped firmly within it, which peaked the curiosity of the young teen. She quickly but gently extracted it from the bird's beak before opening the envelope.

"Who's it from?" Johanna asked, glancing up from what she was doing.

Dawn slowly stepped away from the window, her eyes scanning the letter as she slowly pulled it out, taking in what it read. She sat down on a nearby chair before answering her mother. A rather disgruntled Galatea desperately tried to get on her Trainer's lap but was left unnoticed, the Piplup holding her beak in the air angrily once she realized that her attempts were fruitless.

"It's a letter from the Professor addressed to me," the girl told her mother. She then began reading it out loud.

_Dear Miss Dawn Evergreen,_

_I extend my greetings to you once again and apologize for my attitude towards you in our first encounter._

_I would like to meet you once again, under better circumstances. Come to my lab whenever you have the time, for I would like to discuss something very important. If you still wish to become a Pokémon Trainer. Also, bring that Piplup that I gave you, and a way to set you on your path will be provided. Make sure to bring your friend Barry with you as well, just in case. Remind him to bring his Chimchar as well. Either Lucas or I will explain further once you two come by._

_Best wishes,_

_Professor E. S. Rowan_

Silence persisted as Dawn closed the letter. Even though she had already received Galatea from Professor Rowan, his letter solidified the passing of owners. Even though becoming a Trainer was one of her greatest dreams, did she really have what it took to take care of something like this? It was just a Piplup, yet the thought of raising one made her nervous. It was something so small, yet so powerful.

"What did he mean by 'a way to set you on that path will be provided'?" Dawn's brow furrowed as her eyes scanned the sentence once again. It had left her stumped. Nonetheless, she didn't doubt the good professor's promise. It only left her mind excited and racing; through all of these thoughts, she decided to let herself be in fate's hands. No matter what the road was like, no matter what obstacle they would have to face, she and Barry could face it together. It was thanks to Professor Rowan that they were set on this path. Even though her license as a Trainer hadn't been established, Dawn couldn't thank him enough. She looked over at Johanna as she finished the thought. Her mother was smiling mischievously.

"I'm not going to spoil the surprise!" she said with a knowing look.

Dawn knew her mother well enough to know that she would  _not_ spill the beans. So, in the end, the girl smiled. "I guess I should go and thank him," Dawn said. She slid off the chair, Galatea and Johanna following her out. The trio descended the stairs; with the Penguin Pokémon in the front, followed by her Trainer, and then Johanna. Each one of them was in their own thoughts, wondering about this turn of events and how it would affect their futures. Only time would tell.

A light, cold breeze greeted the three of them once they exited the house. They were taking Dawn with them, showing her the starting path. It was certainly a strang thought she had to admit, but it was a comforting one nonetheless. Her mother quickly handed the girl her white backpack and she ruffled through its contents. As Dawn was going through her things, Johann smiled, a tear going down one of her cheeks.

"Your father would have been proud of you," she said suddenly.

Dawn looked up, mirroring the sad smile on her mother's face. Her departed father constantly talked about the day that his little girl would become a Trainer. Sadly, he would never see this day, thanks to the poison of a Nidoking.

Dawn bit back tears as she recalled the last time she had seen her father. He was about to go on a mission. A sad smile was on his face. She clung to that last memory of the Pokemon Ranger. Even though it brought her sadness, it also gave her the strength to carry on. He would have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed if she had died instead of him. He would have carried on for her like she was for him.

* * *

_It's going to be okay. Promise me you'll be a good girl for your mom, all right?_

_You'll come back safe, won't you Daddy?_

* * *

The smile had changed to a grin then, but only for a moment. He didn't want her to see him sad, Dawn had found out later. Just thinking about it made her eyes well up with tears. She hadn't seen him since all those years ago. Her mother had a hard time telling her the truth. It only took her a few days to say why Daddy was suddenly gone, but when she got around to it, it was the hardest thing that Johanna had ever done. Dawn remembered her mother crouching in front of her while she was watching TV, a sad smile was on her face and tears were slowly leaking down her cheeks. She didn't want to do this to her child, but Dawn deserved to know the truth.

* * *

_Dawn, can I talk to you in your room for a minute?_

_Sure!_

Once they were in the room, the two of them sat on Dawn's bed. Johanna struggled for a moment, not sure how to gather her words. After a bit, she decided to be truthful, but tell her daughter in the simplest way possible.

_You know how Daddy went on a mission a few days ago?_

_Yeah! He's going to come back soon right?_

It took all of Johanna's willpower to not burst into tears. She shook her head slowly.  _No, Deedee, he won't come back. a man just told me that a dangerous Pokemon hurt Daddy; it was a Nidoking. They got him to the hospital and did the best they could, but he didn't make it._ She tried to her best to explain this to Dawn but was unsure about how the little girl would react

Dawn began to silently cry like her mother. S _o... He's not here anymore?_ The girl's understanding of the concept of death was simple, but was enough.

_Yes, Dawn, he's somewhere else. He's in a better place now. But, he wouldn't want us to cry, would he? He would want to keep on going and always remember him.\_

With that, the two had embraced, sharing in one another's sadness.

 _I miss Daddy,_ Dawn had said.

_I miss him too, sweety._

* * *

Dawn shook herself out of the memories. She put her arms around her mother, who was silently crying. The girl whispered words of comfort as best she could to Johanna, trying to mend her own aching heart as well. But, words were only bandages; they would fall off eventually like they always did.

"Don't forget to write to me, and don't forget about your journal," her mother cautioned.

"I won't forget, I promise."

Johanna stepped back a bit. "Don't forget to have fun, that's what's most important."

Dawn nodded. "Don't worry, I'll have tons of fun! Oh, and I'll make you proud, both of you!" Taking her fledgling Piplup in her arms, Dawn sped away from the home that she lived in all her life. She was leaving it behind for the longest of times. It was a strange new world that she was entering, but she would never be alone on this journey. She would be entering the new world with her friends, old and new.

_I know you'll make me proud._

A grin that was befitting of Barry spread across her face as Dawn entered Route 201, heading towards Sandgem Town.

* * *

Chimchar and his Trainer were just headed out of the house, ready to greet the Pokémon Professor. The letter from Rowan was still clutched in Barry's fist, the Chimp Pokémon sat atop Barry's head, his little fangs mimicking the smile on the boy's face as best the could. A soft wind was blowing the boy's blonde hair and Chimchar's swirly orange crest on his head.

"All right! Let's show the world that we mean business! I'm gonna get all the Gym Badges in Sinnoh! Then, once you and I get strong enough Chimchar… We're going to challenge the Battle Frontier!"

Barry clenched his fists and threw back his head in a righteous laugh.

"YOU HEAR ME, DAD?! I'M COMIN' AFTER YOU! YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE THE TOWER TYCOON FOR MUCH LONGER, JUST YOU WAIT!"

Without another word, he sped off towards Sandgem Town, with Chimchar clinging tightly onto Barry's shoulder. They both had identical grins on their faces.

Sandgem Town was just hop skip and a Barry dash away from Twinleaf. Both were around the same size, except Sandgem was much, much older. The houses could easily have been over a hundred years old, and every single one of them looked the same: blue rooves and white walls with paint that was chipping off. While Sandgem was more compact compared to its erratic counterpart- the Research Lab, Mart, and Pokémon Center being all right next to each other- that didn't mean that it was without its charm.

Flowers bloomed, surrounding the entire town and decorating its houses. There were trees that cast shadows over the town's entirety, creating a protective natural wall over the community. To the north, Sandgem ended and gave way to the lush early routes of Sinnoh. It was a rugged path would eventually lead its follower to the bustling Jubilife City. To the south there splayed forth Sandgem Beach.

He was brought back down memory lane as he stumbled towards the small white hills. Amid the sand, he saw someone.

_Dawn._

Her black hair was flowing in the wind, in stark contrast to her pale skin and the sand. She didn't say a peep, not reacting to Barry's approach. He looked down at his friend since he was taller, but even then. Barry noticed the Piplup that was standing next to his friend, who gave the Chimp Pokémon a look of curiosity.

"Go ahead pal," Barry said with a grin.

The two of them ran off to play, leaving their two Trainers in silence.

A few minutes past in that silence and Barry wanted to say something to his friend. There was something wrong, he could tell something was bothering her, but he couldn't tell exactly what. He had an idea, but it pained him to see his friend this way.

"Remember when we used to make sand castles here as kids?"

Admittedly, the question caught him off guard. Barry hadn't thought about those days for a long time. He looked over to Dawn again. She was smiling, but it didn't extend to her eyes.

"Yeah, I remember," he said plainly with a frown. "But now isn't the time to be sad when we're about to go on a Pokémon journey. And before you ask me what I'm talking about, I know you, Dawn. I don't know why you're sad, but that doesn't matter, just promise me you won't think about whatever it is. Deal?"

Dawn smiled for real this time. "Deal. Let's get our little friends back."

Once the two Pokemon were found, they were sent back into their Poke Balls.

* * *

Lucas was doing just fine until the door of the laboratory slammed open.

"HOLY MOTHER OF MEWTWO!"

Everything went into chaos. His outburst caused him to flip the table he was working on. As a result, his computer, the pile of reports he was filing through and whatever else that was on the surface crashed to the floor. A resounding slam reverberated throughout the lab. The boy whirled around on the two that entered and found the surprised looks of the new Trainers: Barry and Dawn.

The two of them exchanged a look.

 _Holy mother of Mewtwo? Haven't heard that one before,_ Barry's look seemed to say.

 _Well, he's not wrong,_ Dawn's look replied.

The assistant's face paled at the sight of this. Dawn was surprised that this was even possible, considering that the other boy's normal complexion was akin to her own. Now, however, he was as white as a ghost, his brown eyes and steel-gray hair looking unnaturally dark compared to the rest of his body, He looked very sick, like he was about to throw up. Dawn sincerely felt bad for the kid, wishing that they had just knocked on the door instead of barging in like they did.

"Please don't tell the professor," Lucas begged, wringing his hands together nervously. "If he finds out I'll never hear the end of it." He looked down in shame.

"I'm sure Professor Rowan won't mind," Dawn ventured. When she saw Barry slowly shaking his head, she elbowed him in the ribs.

Lucas snorted. The of change mood was sudden, but it disappeared quickly. "Well then you don't know Rowan well, do you? Yes, he is a kind-hearted man, but if you tread on the wrong foot…" He slid his right index finger over his neck. "You two know full well what it's like to be in that situation," Lucas added, gesturing over to Barry and Dawn with a hand. He let his arms fall to his sides.

"Well, what's the worst he could do?" Barry asked with a shrug.

Lucas laughed sarcastically before abruptly saying: "He could fire me, that's the worst he could do." The boy's tone was surprisingly firm, leaning over with his fists clenched.

"Oh, sorry," the other boy apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Lucas dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand.

Dawn smiled, putting her hands on her hips. "You work for the professor? How well does that go, I mean in terms of money? I'm just curious."

Lucas shrugged again. "It pays pretty well I guess, but I don't really do it for the money." He quickly slid off his black and blue striped jacket, rolling back the sleeves of his silver shirt and dusted off his blue jeans. He worriedly looked back at the mess that was in front of him, the full severity of his consequences coming to mind. Lucas crouched down and put his hands over his face, slowly pulling them downwards as an ascending groan escaping his lips.

"Oh, Arceus help me!"

Barry leaned into Dawn so only she could hear. "This guy sure likes to run his mouth."

Dawn punched him in the shoulder. "It's not like we don't do that you know!" she hissed back. "The poor kid's scared out of his mind! If I were in his situation, then I would be saying the first thing that came to mind too."

"What should we do then?" Barry asked.

Her answer came as a question to the other boy. "Need any help with… the mess you've got here?" she spread her arms out, encompassing the strewn of papers and other things that littered the room.

Lucas nodded appreciatively, and they all got down on the floor to pick up the fallen papers. Under the young assistant's instruction, Barry and Dawn piled the reports of the Pokémon by numerical order. Once all of those were in order, the trio took one side of the table and lifted it back up, its feet banging on the floor for a moment.

The three of them wiped their clammy brows with a sigh, relieved that the work was finally done.

"You have no idea how long it would have taken me to catalog all those Pokémon reports all by myself," Lucas moaned, looking down for a few seconds again. This was odd considering that he was just fine while Barry and Dawn had been helping him, but it didn't last much longer. His frown was replaced with a smile once again.

"So, that was rough," Dawn ventured into a conversation again. There were a few seconds of silence before she decided to break it. "Hopefully, everything has been set in order, so the professor won't be too mad."

Lucas nodded silently. Something beeped within his pocket, which caused him to flinch. The boy took a phone out and checked it and a look of recognition dawned on his face. He put the phone away back in his pocket quickly, turning back to the Trainers before him.

"The professor wishes for me to take you to his office," the boy stated, suddenly gaining a sophisticated tone to his voice. "If you'd follow me please." He gestured over to the back of the lab, where Dawn could see a large mahogany door.

"Alright! Dawn, let's go see what Rowan has waiting for us!" Barry then dashed off to the door, leaving a perplexed look on the other boy's face.

"Is he always like that?" Lucas asked the girl.

Dawn put a hand over her eyes. "Yes."

The two of them followed Barry into the professor's office.

The room wasn't quite as grandiose as Dawn had expected. The walls were a plain white and the floor was wooden, unlike the marble floor of the rest of the lab. There were three bookshelves that lined the back wall behind the professor's desk, yet they looked plain as well. On the desk itself were a stack of manila folders to the left of an opened laptop. To the right of the computer were two rectangular devices with rounded edges. They were red and green respectively, a camera lens in their top right corner.

"Ooh! What are those?" Barry impulsively walked over to the strange devices, eyeing them with childlike curiosity. He was looking at the green one specifically.

Lucas let out a cheery chuckle while Dawn stifled a laugh at what Barry said. Though, for some reason, Dawn could detect a hint of nervousness in it.

"That's called a Pokedex, short for Pokémon Encyclopedia. Or at least, I think that's what it stands for." Lucas rubbed the side of his head, looking thoughtful. "If you encounter a Pokémon in the wild it'll give you all kinds of information, it can tell you a Pokémon's type, its species, height, and weight, as well as a blurb that shows the findings that scientists come up with during their research." As the boy continued talking he tone was getting more excited.

Barry and Dawn threw out their one and only Poke Balls, and Chimchar and Piplup appeared, the former screeched happily while the latter chirped with joy.

Two electronic voices filled the room as Barry opened the green Pokedex, while Dawn took the red one.

 **Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon- a Fire-type.** **It is very agile. Before going to sleep, it extinguishes the flame on its tail to prevent fires. Its fiery rear end is fueled by gas made in its belly. Even rain can't extinguish the fire.**

**Height: 1 Foot, 8 Inches**

**Weight: 13.7 lbs.**

_Admittedly, that's cool, but that just proves that this guy is a nerd,_ Barry thought.

**Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon- a Water-type. It is a poor walker. However, its strong pride makes it puff up its chest without a care. Because it is very proud, it hates accepting food from people. Its thick feathers guard it against the cold.**

**Height: 1 Foot 4 Inches**

**Weight 11.5 lbs.**

Dawn frowned at this. "It won't accept food from other people? What does that mean?"

"I think it just means that she won't accept food from strangers," Lucas said, holding up a finger. "I don't think that your Piplup will ignore you, given that she already seems to like you," he added, nodding as the Penguin Pokémon clung to the girl's jeans.

"I hope you're right," Dawn said with a small smile.

"Speaking of your Pokémon liking you," Lucas looked back between the two Trainers. "How about you two give a nickname to your two friends." He finished his suggestion, folding his arms his arms over his chest, looking at the two creatures and their new owners with… was that a longing look?

"I already decided. I'm going to call her Galatea. I decided once I got home this morning and she seems to like it. Don't you Piplup?" She looked down at the penguin with a sweet smile.

Lucas nodded in understanding.

Barry took longer to decide, looking thoughtfully at the Chimchar sitting before him. Dawn could swear she saw a light go on in his head after a few seconds. That grin spread across his face. "I got it!" he said, slamming a fist against his other palm, before bending down until he was at eye-level with the Chimp Pokémon.

"I think I'll call you Dante. Would you like to have that name?"

Dante nodded at this and happily hopped onto the boy's shoulder. Silence permeated the room for a few moments after Lucas's phone buzzed again.

"Professor Rowan says that he can't join us before you leave, but I can escort you if you'd like," Lucas suggested. Before they left, the boy handed them each a Minella envelope. He told them that it contained their information, such as their phone numbers and medical info, along with some other information that the professor got from their parents. There was also a detailed map of Sinnoh inside, topped off with their Trainer cards. At his question, the other two nodded in agreement, and they followed the boy to the main room of the lab.

"So, do you guys have any plans for your journey?" the assistant asked once they were a bit farther into the lab.

"Barry answered quickly. "Well, I don't know what Dawn's up to, but I'm going to take on the Gym challenge! When my Pokémon and I are strong enough, we're going to take on the Battle Frontier!" Dante added a happy call to this, showing that he approved.

"That's a good goal, but the road will be hard, I'm sure. What about you?" Lucas turned to Dawn.

The girl shrugged. "I could try the Gyms too. Maybe in time, I could challenge the League."

She said it nonchalantly, as if the task would be simple.

"If you want to challenge the League, then you've got your work cut out for you."

Dawn nodded.

By the time they were out of the lab, the sun was high in the sky. It gave them a sense of finality as they walked down the steps.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, or at least for now," Barry said, turning to Lucas. "By the way, I didn't get your name," he added.

Lucas extended a hand that was clad in a red and black fingerless glove. "I'm Lucas. Lucas Rowan. I'm the professor's grandson."

Barry took the other boy's hand. "It was good to meet you, Lucas! Hopefully, we cross paths again." His grin was plastered on his face again.

"You can say that again," Dawn agreed, reaching out to shake Lucas's hand. The three of them smiled, though all three were sad. They would be going their separate ways. Two of them would be traveling the world, while the other would most likely be left behind. It was saddening in a way.

_May you have the room to spread your powerful wings, my friends. Hopefully, you can become the Trainers you were meant to be and fulfill your hopes and dreams._

So Lucas thought as he saw their silhouettes disappear away from the borders of Sandgem Town.

_May we meet again, my friends._


	6. Enjoying the Jubilife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Yes, I know it's been three months since I last updated, but school got in the way. For that, I apologize greatly. I'm also partially to blame because I've been trying to write a bit ahead of the story, but had writer's block for a while. *facepalms* Anyway I'm going to keep this short so, thank you guys for reading what's been on here so far, and I hope that you're excited for what's to come now that I'm back for a while. I'd also love to hear more of your thoughts and feedback as we go along
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!
> 
> -AncientHero

* * *

 

_**Chapter 6: Enjoying the Jubilife** _

* * *

**D** awn and Barry walked in silence across the route. Neither of them had gotten used to the fact that they now were Trainers, even though they had long anticipated going on a journey.

Neither of them expected it to happen so quickly. Yes, they were excited about what was to come, but something seemed a bit off. Maybe they rushed to the professor too soon? Should they have stayed home for few days before leaving? They didn't know what the right decision was, but at least they weren't left empty-handed. They were fully prepared for what was ahead, or at least when it came to having materials to work with. They had extra food, clothes, and medicine for themselves and their Pokémon, and whatever they needed for their journey to and from the next couple of cities.

Barry heaved a sigh after a few moments. "That was faster than I expected, wasn't it Dawn? Almost too fast, really," he amended with a grimace. He ran his fingers through his wild hair, letting out a sigh again.

Dawn raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her face."That was  _too_ fast for you?" she asked, turning to him. "I thought nothing was too fast for The Orange Flash of Sinnoh."

The boy shrugged, a wry smile on his face. "Nothing's faster than the Orange Flash!" he insisted with a clenched fist and a grin. It disappeared quickly as a thought occurred to him. "Well, maybe nothing except for Zoom; I haven't seen him in a while." The boy looked downcast.

Dawn patted the boy on the shoulder. "Who knows, maybe we'll see him during our travels. I wouldn't worry too much about it though." They lapsed into silence once again. It was soon broken when the boy looked back at his friend, who seemed to be lost in thought. Barry put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him.

"What's up, Barry?" she asked.

"How long until we reach the next city?"

Dawn stopped to put her backpack on the ground. She rummaged through it for a little while, her face getting more screwed up as she dug around. Finally, she pulled out a nicely folded map, unfurling it as she stood back up. Barry scooted over to her, so he could see it as well. From what he could tell, where they were standing- on Route 202- they were at the very bottom of the map. Ignoring all the aesthetic designs of the map of the mostly triangular shaped region, Barry saw that they were standing directly south of the first city on the map: Jubilife City. They were north-east of Twinleaf Town now.

"It shouldn't be much longer now," Dawn assured him.

Barry held up a hand. "I think Jubilife can wait for a little, There's something that I need to take care of, okay?" he asked her, readjusting his brown backpack. That grin appeared on his face once again, and he looked like he just ate something with a lot of sugar. His body was shaking with excitement like it was before they went to go see Professor Rowan.

Dawn lowered the map, curious.

_He must be thinking again. It's probably one of his crazy ideas again. Should I go along with it? I don't know, but his last one turned out to get us in a good place. Maybe we'll have good luck and we'll get something good out of it._

"All right, what's on your mind kid?" she asked, stuffing the map back in her bag.

Barry clapped his hands together once, his grin not wavering in the slightest. "I was thinking that we go back home for just a bit. Is that okay with you Deedee?"

Dawn grimaced at the nickname he used to call her in their childhood. But, she didn't let that quell her curiosity. What could he possibly want to go home for? It wasn't like he had forgotten something, was it? She wouldn't put it past him though, knowing how clumsy he was. Then again, there could be a different reason entirely, which peaked her curiosity further. She conceded.

"What do you want to go home for, Barry? We just left, you know." She frowned slightly.

Barry chuckled. "Yeah well, I've got a surprise for you once we get back home. I just know you're going to love it," he added, spreading his arms wide as he stepped closer to her with that maniacal grin of his. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Dawn decided again.

She blinked a couple of times, surprised by his declaration.

"What kind of surprise? Are you pulling my leg Barry?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing. Now her mind was reeling about what in Arceus's name he was talking about; though, none of the ideas she came with were really anything that Barry would manage to do for her, or at least not without any help. Just thinking about it made her go nuts.

"Can you tell me?" she asked in a sweet, almost pleading tone. Barry just grinned even more at this.

"Nope! You're just gonna have to wait until we get back to Twinleaf Town. I'm not sayin' nothin' until we get there. He laughed, to Dawn's dismay before continuing. "Plus," he added, holding up a finger, "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you what it was, would it?"

Her mind exploded in a frenzy of thoughts at his reasoning. But, she had to admit that he was right. Dawn didn't want to be spoiled about whatever her friend had planned.

"I'll race you back home!" he said suddenly, getting into his sprinting stance.

"Oh, no you don't! You're not gonna beat me this time!" she insisted, trying to imitate him. Barry was too fast for her though. He rocketed off cackling like a madman, proving again that he deserved the title of the Orange Flash of Sinnoh.

"BARRY! GET YOUR SORRY BUTT BACK HERE SO I CAN KICK IT, YOU JERK!" she screamed. The entirety of Twinleaf and Sandgem might have heard her shriek, but she didn't care. Dawn then started running after she got her breath back from the outburst.

The boy was already three-fourths of the way down the route by the time she started running after him. She never understood how he was so fast or why he had so much energy, but that didn't matter since he waited for her. Dawn was out of breath again, hands on her knees.

"You… jerk… You were supposed to wait… until I was ready."

"Sorry, you were too slow! As usual." He laughed, a cheery laugh that ebbed away all the ills that she had towards him. As he was laughing again, she punched him in the shoulder. This caused the boy to rub his shoulder with a grimace.

"What was that for?"

Dawn rolled her eyes, not wanting to grace his question with an answer. "Come on, just take me to wherever this surprise is." She advanced a bit farther into Twinleaf Town, Barry eventually taking the lead and taking the girl back to her house. Dawn looked at her friend in confusion, raising an eyebrow.

"Why are we back here?" she asked.

Barry shrugged with a smile. "If I told you, I'd be spoiling the surprise." This caused Dawn to groan in frustration. She stomped her foot on the ground, eyeing Barry with a look of annoyance. He could swear that her eyes flashed an angry red, but only for a second.

"Well," Barry said while putting his hands in his pockets. "If you want to find out what the surprise is, why don't you just open the door?" He gestured to the front door, grinning sadistically. Clearly, he was doing this to spite her, knowing that she was already beginning to miss home. Yet, she couldn't resist following his suggestion, having felt that she hadn't given her mother a proper goodbye.

Dawn slowly opened the door and found that the main room was completely dark. A bit confused, she stepped inside. She was halfway through the room when the lights flashed on. She saw that the room was decorated with what looked like things that were used for a birthday party. Balloons lined the walls, streams lined the ceiling tied wherever would work, and, over a beautifully set table was a banner that read:

**HAPPY TRAVELS DAWN!**

"Surprise!" Johanna came rushing towards her, enveloping the girl in a warm hug, much to Dawn's surprise.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked her mother, who smiled sadly.

"I didn't really have the time to set this up earlier, so I asked Barry if he could stall a bit for me. You have no idea how infuriating it is to decorate when you're in a rush, but I think it came out just fine," she added, looking at the colorful display that dominated the room. Johanna lead Dawn to the table, which was covered with a white tablecloth, a scented candle in the near center.

Dawn was left speechless at this, all feelings of guilt and regret that she once had after leaving immediately vanished. She no longer felt that she didn't say a proper goodbye. Her mother returned from the kitchen a minute later; having walked into it for a moment. She brought with her a red velvet cake: Dawn's favorite. Johanna began slicing it slowly, while Barry sat down next to his friend.

"Why didn't you tell me there was a surprise?" Dawn asked with a sly smile.

Barry chuckled, which infuriated her, but she didn't show it. "Because it wouldn't have been that much of a surprise if I did. Come on Deedee, you know better than that!"

"In fact," he added, a tantalizing smile spreading across his face. "I'm the one who demands to know about surprises, not you."

Dawn sighed. He was right about that; she didn't need to worry about something that was right in front of her now. She never it liked when he was right, but she had to hand it to him, those rare occurrences certainly put her in the right direction. When she was being stubborn or confused, Barry always knew how to turn her right around. It was like they switched places whenever this happened; the coin was flipped.

The three of them ate their lunch- which consisted of sandwiches- as well as their cake in silence. Dawn supposed it was because they were now fully understanding that the two of them were indeed going to leave their homes and their families. Barry and his friend had plenty of time to think this over; they had time ever since they decided to become Trainers. But know, they felt that the responsibility of being a Pokémon Trainer was now fully on their shoulders. The thought filled them both with excitement, yet it also filled them with dread.

After they were done with their meal, Johanna surprised them both by pulling out two plastic party bags; one was orange while the other was pink.

"Mom, you didn't have to do this." Dawn smiled as she looked in the bag.

"Yeah, Auntie! I mean, it's great that you got these for us, but you didn't have to." Barry grinned in a way that was sheepish and thankful at the same time; Dawn wasn't sure how, but it worked nonetheless.

Johanna smiled with a wave of her hand. "Oh, don't worry about it! I just want you to be as ready as you can for the road of a Trainer. You know, that path isn't exactly easy. Who knows what you'll run into while you're out there! It's always good to be prepared."

The young Trainers nodded in understanding.

Dawn and Barry turned their attention to what was in their bags. The first thing that they noticed was that they got more clothes both for warm and cold weather. Next, there was an extra journal and some envelopes and mailing paper with stamps. There were also some simple recipes that the two of them could make; just in case they were in a plight. There was also food for their Pokémon, and to top it all off- there was what looked like a digital watch. There were six buttons on it, three on each side. Dawn could only guess what purpose they served. As the two of them pulled the watches out, they saw that Dawn's was purple while Barry's was green.

"What's up with these things?" Barry asked. He tried to push a few buttons, but nothing happened. The screen on his was still black despite his attempts to turn it on.

Johanna decided to explain to them what it was. "It's a Poke Watch or Poketch. It can do all sorts of things, but I'm sure you can figure it out," she said, confirming Dawn's assumption. Barry strapped his Poketch on, and Dawn followed suit.

After finishing their food and saying a few sad but quick goodbyes, the two were out on the road once again.

Dawn noticed that as they left, it was getting closer to evening now. The sun was setting; the sky slowly turning into shades of orange and pink. The sight was calming, yet also nerve-racking. She wasn't exactly a fan of traveling at night, but she wasn't scared of the dark. It was the sense of running out of time that scared her, but Dawn knew she couldn't do anything about it. They would have to get to Jubilife City faster; then they could finally rest.

"Are you ready?" Barry asked with a concerned look. He smiled again once the girl nodded. The two of them then stepped onto the path that would lead them out of Dawn's home. Neither of them said anything as they progressed through the town. The silence was only broken when they stepped out onto Route 201. Barry turned to Dawn with a grin on his face.

"You wanna have a battle?" he asked suddenly.

Dawn was taken aback by this question. She didn't feel prepared for this; it was too sudden of a request. Plenty of reasons came to her mind that went against this, but there was one that she felt that would carry the most weight. It was a cop-out; the most obvious reason, really. But, she was also nervous; Dawn wasn't expecting a battle request so soon. After a moment of recollection, she swallowed down her nerves and allowed a smile to grace her face.

"Sure, why not," she decided with a grin.

"Yes!" Barry threw his fist in the air victoriously. His grin was so wide that it was as if it had never left his face. He looked giddy with excitement. Barry was visibly shaking because of it.

"I've been waiting so long for this!" he nearly shouted. "The time has finally come to decide which of us is the better Trainer." Barry pulled out the single Poke Ball from his belt; it was clasped firmly in his hand, ready to be thrown.

Dawn didn't really feel that a single battle could prove which one of them was better. It wouldn't really determine how future battles would go between them, no matter who the victor was; that wasn't important. What was important was the fun of it. She didn't really care if she won or lost or at least, she didn't care when it came to battling her friend, though the thought of a challenge did excite her. Dawn pulled her Poke Ball out of her bag, preparing to throw it.

_On your mark…_

_Get set…_

"GO!"

Barry finished the thought out loud, thrusting the Poke Ball forward. In a burst of blue light, Dante the Chimchar appeared, ready for battle with his claws raised. The flame that served as his tail was burning a fierce red. A grin was on his face that was identical to his master's.

"Are you ready Dante? Let's make this battle our first victory!" Barry called over to the Chimp Pokémon, who gave the boy a thumbs up. The boy looked over to his friend- his opponent- to see if she was ready. A second later, she threw her Poke Ball, and what was inside burst out.

Barry's expression was one of shock as the Piplup readied herself in a defensive stance.

"WHAT THE HECK, THAT'S NOT FRICKIN' FAIR!" Barry screamed while pointing an accusatory finger. "HOW COME YOU GET TO HAVE THE POKEMON THAT'S STRONG AGAINST MINE?!"

Dawn couldn't help but laugh at his frustration. The look on his face was priceless! After calming herself down, she decided to answer him anyway.

"Well," she said with a smile, "It was either Galatea or I was going to be bitten like ten times a day by that stubborn Turtwig. I didn't want that, so…"

"Well, whatever! Let's just get this over with. Dante, use Scratch!" Barry ordered with an outstretched hand. With a nod, the Chimchar rushed forward, his claws flashing in the sunset's light. He was approaching fast, determined to win.

Dawn had little time to react to this, so her order came out shakily. "Galatea uh, dodge that Scratch and then follow up with a Pound o-okay?"

The Piplup looked a little disgruntled but followed the order anyway. As Dante came rushing towards her with manic glee, Galatea just stared at him with a bored expression. It wasn't until the Chimchar was nearly upon her that she followed through. This worried Dawn for a bit.

As Dante's sharp claws came down, Galatea ducked her head to avoid it. This attempt wasn't completely successful, however, because she still managed to get scratched by the monkey on the side of the head. Piplup chirped in pain. Her Trainer saw that there was a small red gash where the attack made an impact.

Dante couldn't come out of that squabble either. Like her mistress commanded, Galatea jumped up and delivered the monkey a kick to the head, who shrieked in surprise and hurt.

The Chimchar scampered back over to his Trainer, while the Piplup waddled over to hers.

"Are you alright Galatea?" Dawn asked with concern, looking down at the Piplup with concern. The Penguin Pokémon answered by giving her a chirp, which she thought meant 'yes'.

"Okay then, let's keep going! Are you ready to lose Barry?!" Dawn challenged him from across the battlefield. Piplup gave a chirp of affirmation at this.

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Dawn! Let's keep on going! Dante, charge towards Piplup and use Scratch again!" Dante obeyed and rushed forward again, his claws flashing in the light of the evening sun. The distance between the two Pokémon was closing quickly. Dawn's mind was sifting through any idea of what to do next.

"All right! Galatea, use Pound again please." Confidence resonated in her voice and the Piplup's with some of her own. Chirping in response, the Penguin Pokémon crouched down and readied herself for another attack. Dante was coming ever closer to them excitement gleaming in his eyes that reflected that of his master's. Now the two Pokémon were a few feet apart from one another.

"Okay. Now stop Dante, then use Leer!" Barry commanded.

The Chimchar stopped in his tracks as he was told; although he did so abruptly. Looking down at the Piplup, a snarl spread across his face, which frightened the little penguin. She stood frozen in her place, her eyes scrunched closed as she held her head with her flippers.

Barry took this opportunity to attack quickly.

"Use Scratch again Dante!"

Dawn became frantic all the sudden. She was breathless. But, she managed to get another order out.

"Galatea, quick! Block that Scratch with a Pound!"

The Piplup raised her flipper as the clawed hand began to come down on her. The two Pokémon began to exchange blows, one after the other. The impact of each one was like the sound of being slapped in the face, as sonic booms spread out from each one. The resulting booms were strong enough to cause a wind that pushed back the foliage of the nearby trees. Through all of this, neither Trainer nor Pokémon would give up. A fierce atmosphere spread across the battlefield as the clash raged on. With every drop of blood spilled, every tear that was shed, both sides would hurt, physically and emotionally.

Soon, both Pokémon were scratched up and bruised by their Trainers' side. Barry and Dawn were bent over with their hands on their knees, though they knew not why.

"Barry let's call it a tie," Dawn called over to him breathlessly. "Both our Pokémon are hurt and it's getting late. Let's not make them battle anymore, it'll just be hurting them for no reason," she finished, heaving a sigh.

Barry nodded silently before straightening himself up again. "C'mon Dante, let's get back to Jubilife City quick so we can get you healed up quick. The boy held out his arm expecting the Chimchar to hop onto it, but Dante didn't budge. There was a fierce look in his eyes that Barry didn't understand. He crouched down, so he was at eye-level with the Chimp Pokémon, who continued to glare at him. It took him a moment to understand what that look meant.

 _The battle's not over yet_.

Barry sighed, a sad smile spreading across his face. "Look, I know you want to finish this battle. I do too, but you're not exactly in the best shape, what with all those scratches and bruises man. As much as I want to give you that chance, my heart is going against that," Barry emphasized this by putting his hand over his heart.

After a moment, Dante seemed to understand. He slowly crawled up Barry's arm and shoulder with some assistance from his Trainer. The two of them made their way over to Dawn, who had a hurt Galatea in her arms. Her eyes had small red rims around them. She had been crying.

With the exchange of sad smiles and a nod, the two Trainers made their way to Jubilife City in silence.

The moon began to rise above them as stars began to dot the dark night sky.


End file.
